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October 26, 2006

Jeter Wins AL Aaron Award

Derek Jeter was the AL winner of the Hank Aaron Award for all-around offensive performance. Ryan Howard was the NL winner.

Howard received 33 percent of all National League fan votes and Jeter received 37 percent of the AL votes. The votes came from fans voting at MLB's website, thus making this a fairly pointless exercise. Still, it might serve as a small insight into how the actual awards will go in November.

The AL MVP will be named on November 21. MLB's story lists what it feels are the strongest candidates -- Jermaine Dye, Jeter, Justin Morneau, David Ortiz, and Johan Santana.

In Ortiz's case, Jim Molony writes:

Big Papi certainly has MVP numbers. ... Unfortunately for Ortiz, his team has struggled in the second half and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

This shit infuriates me (the same excuse is offered for Travis Hafner, who also was injured for all of September). An ungodly number of injuries in August and sub-par seasons from various teammates should not affect Ortiz's standing. Likewise, if the prolonged absences of Matsui and Sheffield (or some shitty pitching) had derailed New York's season, that should in no way detract from Jeter's performance.

The Sox injuries should not have any effect on assessing the value of Ortiz' incredible year. Jeter led the league in no offensive categories. The one area, clutch hitting, where he legitimately excelled was the same category in which Ortiz excelled more.The logic of choosing Jeter over Papi is no logic at all.

Unfortunately for Ortiz, his team has struggled in the second half and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

This is why you can't pay much attention to these awards, why you're better off not caring about them, and regarding them as the stupid charades that they are.

What does a team's performance have to do with an individual-performance award?

Why should Ortiz be penalized for the rest of the team being hurt, or Player X be penalized for his team not having decent pitching? Why should a pitcher's W/L record make or break his chances for a Cy Young Award, no matter how minute his ERA and how miniscule his OBA and BAA numbers?

Since we know these decisions are not based in rational, verifiable fact, why pay much attention to them at all?

All season long we talk about how idiotic so many of the baseball writers and announcers are, and those are the idiots making these decisions. Best not to care.

L-girl, couldn't agree more. And it's even easier to ignore 'the fans' who multi-vote on MLB.com. Even when it was an 'all-good' contest--the 04 World Series MVP--I thought Foulkie should have won it. No point even worrying.

In other news, I hate it when the team I'm cheering for tanks against a team I just cannot stand. It's all about me. I fear the next time the Tigers grace Comerica Park it'll be to clean out their lockers.

Exactly!!! This is a public fan-based vote. Jeter is in the number one market, his misguided and misinformed clueless fans are there. To vote for him. Multiple times. And the voting process came during our Papi's heart scare. So I think of this as a minor award, it's result a given. Have a great weekend. Baseball "06 will end tonight. The Tigers seem not to want it..Leyland might be making a huge mistake in not starting KR. Save him for tomorrow? What if there IS no tomorrow? That's what I wrote about in my most recent post. Just a few minutes ago. Take care..Peter

Nope, Peter, the Tigers will take it to the 7th Game, and then, who knows? Jeff Weaver has been pitching way, way over his head, the Tigers are due for some breaks, and the National League will never win another World Series. Ike Delock told me so in a dream.

With all due respect, Peter, this is as ridiculous as the "clueless" fans you're decrying.

The Tigers are a major-league baseball team that has clawed (npi) their way through an entire season and into the W/S. Of course they want to win.

All professional athletes want to win, but certainly you don't get to the W/S without wanting to win. At that level, winning and losing is not down to how much you desire something. There a million factors that go into winning a championship, but desire is a given on both sides.

We should leave that shite to the Ken Rosenthals and Rick Sutcliffes of the world.

I guess my feelings of the future, the near future, were right. The Tigers were outplayed and out managed in EVERY way. And I'm not going to say "told you so." I am not, in any way, a Cards fan....but thet did everything right.

The final crappy end to frame the even crappier demise of the Sox. And the Sox won more regular season games than the Cards. The bright spot is now the dealing can begin. Methinks friend Theo is truly in 'under the microscope' territory on this one.

You just did. But don't worry, everyone knows all you did was guess correctly.

And the Sox won more regular season games than the Cards.

I think this trope should die a sudden death. The baseball season has never been decided by who won the most games. One day the Sox may win 87 or 90 games and win the World Series and we don't need anyone telling us that it's less than legit. No disrespect to you, Mr Woti - I'm just getting tired of everyone saying this, as if it matters.

Au contraire, Ms. L-girl, but it does matter. What 'everybody' is saying by mentioning their pedestrian regular season record is "those guys got lucky" instead of "there goes the best baseball team." And I'd expect the same out of sensible Sox fans in a similar situation.

That's fair, Woti. Though because of unbalanced schedules and different rules between the leagues, cross division comparisons are not reliable, much less-cross league. Still, I think it's fair to say that a team that won 83 games in the NL is a lot closer to, say, the Texas Rangers or Mariners in quality than it is to the Red Sox. Throw the Tampa Bay Devil Rays into a 7 game series with a healthy Scott Kazmirand it could win a WS if the other team's pitchers kept throwing balls away. I don't expect the best team to win the World Series, but I expect a deserving team to win it. The Cards weren't one of the best TEN teams in baseball (behind the Tigers, Twins,Yankees, White Sox, Red Sox, Mets, A's, Jays, Padres and Dodgers), and that's pretty ridiculous. What did this World Series determine? Essentially nothing at all.

What 'everybody' is saying by mentioning their pedestrian regular season record is "those guys got lucky" instead of "there goes the best baseball team."

...

What did this World Series determine? Essentially nothing at all.

Some World Series determine truly the best team in baseball. Some determine the best team of the two playing. Some determine the luckiest of the two. Some determine no more than which team batted last.

I don't believe that before the unbalanced schedule and interleague play, the Championship was always won by the best team in baseball. It's not possible.